April 2, 2014: Had enough of Hoffa, Hall and  contract givebacks? It’s time to take back our union.

Teamsters members  Voted No against concessions at UPS, UPS Freight and YRC. The Vote No movement armed James Hoffa and Ken Hall with leverage to go back to the table and negotiate contract improvements.

Instead, Hoffa and Hall have worked hand-in-glove with management to re-vote weak contracts and push through concessions.

Fed up with Hoffa, Hall and their contract givebacks, Teamster members are building a movement to take back our union.

From Vote No to Take Back Our Union

During the Vote No movement, thousands of Teamsters networked on Facebook pages like “Vote No On UPS Contract” and “No Freight Concessions.” Now these Teamsters are uniting their efforts.

“We’ve got the numbers and we’ve got the power to vote out Hoffa and Hall,” said Mark Timlin of New Jersey Local 177.  “But we’ve got to get organized.”  

Timlin started the 5000-member Facebook page Vote No on the UPS Contract.

Now he’s organizing with his eye on the 2016 Teamster election. Freight and UPS Freight Teamsters are also joining forces.

“Freight Teamsters are fed up with Hoffa and we are all in on an effort to dump him for good, elect new leadership and save our union,” said Bret Subsits, an ABF road driver in Chicago Local 710.

The first elections for  IBT Convention Delegate will be held in 18 months. Delegates vote to officially nominate candidates for IBT office and get them on the ballot.

“When Hoffa and Hall sold out the members in our contract, they woke up a lot of people. Now we’re going to take back our union,” said Rob Atkinson, a UPS driver in Local 538 in Worthington, Pa.

Contact TDU to get involved in the movement to Take Back Our Union in 2016.